


We're Cool, Right?

by verfound



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya's a bully but we love her anyway, Couffaine Fluff, Episode: s03 Poupeflekta | Reflekdoll, F/F, F/M, Juleka deserves all the positive affirmation she can get, Lukanette sprinkles, Marinette's love language is a mix of gifts and service, Oh No He's Hot, Reflekdoll, therapy fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-20 05:04:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20669789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verfound/pseuds/verfound
Summary: After becoming Reflekta again, Juleka promised her friends she was fine.  They were cool.  None of them really believed her, though.  (Or: Reflekdoll therapy because the girls love their anxious bud.)





	We're Cool, Right?

**Author's Note:**

> Reflekdoll. Kinda salty towards Alya and Adrien. This was written like right after watching the ep, then tweaked after watching again, then festered when work started kicking my ass (sleep what is sleep how do you acquire sleep), aaaand I just found it last night when I posted “Peachy”, so apparently I forgot about it. Whoops. It started as solely Juleka & Marinette-centric, but it kinda turned into all-over therapy fic for the Girl Squad. There is so much shameless Couffaine fluff in here. (Also apparently in France you have to be sixteen to have a license for a motorcycle but eighteen for a car? Which baffles me, because I would think car first then bike, but you bet your biscuits I’m taking advantage of that fact.)

Luka looked up as Juleka and Rose entered their cabin, his fingers stilling on his guitar. He’d been anxiously awaiting her return for a few hours now, since he first got the Akuma Alert on his mobile. She had texted him after Mister Bug and Lady Noire had purified her, letting him know that she was ok, but that hadn’t actually let him know that she was _ok_. Juleka returned the look as Rose continued talking, also offering a silent shake of her head. _I’m good. We’ll talk later._ He didn’t look convinced, but he also knew she wouldn’t come to him until she was ready. He leaned back against the wall and continued playing, only half-listening to their conversation.

“…sure you’re not mad, Juleka?” Rose asked, and Luka frowned as he looked up again. Juleka had stopped halfway into the room, her entire body tense. “I know you told Marinette you forgave her, but…are you really ok, Juleka?”

Marinette?

Juleka spun on her heel when his playing stopped, her visible eye – hadn’t she left with her bangs pinned back this morning? – going wide as she looked at him. She pushed a breath out through her nose, grabbed the edge of the partition dividing their rooms, and snapped it shut. He heard Rose squeak.

“See! You _are _still upset!” she cried.

“I’m not mad at Marinette, Ro,” he heard Juleka say. His frown deepened, his fingers slowly beginning to pick at the strings of his guitar again. “Just drop it.”

On the other side of the partition, Rose was having none of it.

“No! You were akumatized, Juleka! I’m not going to _just drop it!”_ she huffed. She balled her hands into fists and stomped her foot. “Especially when I feel partly responsible! How are you mad at Marinette and not at me?”

“Because I’m mad at Alya!” Juleka snapped, startling Rose into silence. Juleka sighed and sat down on her bed, her gaze trained on the floor. “If I’m mad at anyone, Ro, I’m mad at Alya. And myself.”

“Juleka…” Rose sighed. Juleka flopped back on her bed, staring forlornly at the ceiling. Luka was still playing on the other side of the room, a soothing melody she knew was meant to cheer her up. She wished it would work.

“I messed up, Rose,” she sighed. “I made this whole thing about me, and that wasn’t fair to anyone.”

“But you didn’t!” Rose tried, but Juleka shook her head.

“I did, though,” she said. “Marinette wanted help to get her boutique’s website up. This was about her dream, her designs, and I got stupid because I wanted to what? Be a model? I’m not a model.”

“You are!” Rose huffed, stomping her foot again. “You’re beautiful, Juleka Couffaine!”

Juleka smiled a little at that, but it wasn’t enough to make her feel better.

“I wanted to help Marinette, but I wanted to chase a dream, too, y’know?” she sighed. “And then I chickened out. I couldn’t do it. And Marinette was just trying to give me an out because she knew how uncomfortable I was because she’s awesome so of course she would, and…I overreacted.”

“You didn’t overreact,” Rose said quietly. Angrily. It was odd, hearing the annoyance in Rose’s usually cheerful voice. “You’re right. It was supposed to be about the website, and Marinette made it another _Adrien_ mission.”

Juleka winced as she heard the fumble in the music. It was slight, barely perceptible unless you knew what to listen for – and she knew her brother pretty well. She really didn’t want to have _this_ conversation with him in the room. She gave Rose a desperate look, but Rose was glaring out one of the portholes, her arms folded across her chest.

“Adrien wasn’t even supposed to _be_ there, and then all of a sudden he’s the model? It’s so dumb! I mean, yes, he _is_ a model, but we were trying to get photos for the website, not a date with Adrien!” Rose huffed. Juleka shot up and waved her hands frantically at Rose, harshly dragging a finger across her neck. Rose’s eyes widened at her, and she gasped as she realized the other side of the room had gone completely silent. “I-I mean…well…but it’s true, though!”

“But that wasn’t _Marinette’s_ doing!” Juleka said quickly, shaking her head. “Rose, you were standing there with the rest of us when Alya convinced Adrien to come! You saw Marinette tell her no, and Alya just bullied Adrien on her anyway! Marinette did _not_ want him there!”

The other side of the room was still silent. God, why did her brother have to be such an idiot? Just leave the room already!

“But…it’s _Adrien_,” Rose said meekly. “Marinette would never turn down an opportunity to spend time with him. She…you know.”

Juleka sighed. At least Rose had the decency to not blurt out _she loves him_ when stupid brothers were obviously eavesdropping.

“But the website is important to Marinette,” she said. “She wants to put her best work forward. She can’t do that around Adrien. She can’t even function around him half the time.”

Rose giggled slightly, nodding fondly as she said, “You have a point.”

“Look, Ro, I promise you: I’m not mad at Marinette for how things went down. I’m annoyed at Alya, and I’m annoyed at myself, but I’m not mad at Marinette – or you,” Juleka added, giving her a pointed look. “I just…thank you for walking me home, but I’m ok, I promise. And I love you, but I really need to be alone right now. Is that ok?”

“It’s always ok,” Rose said, frowning as she fidgeted. She twisted her fingers together, and Juleka sighed as she held her arms up. Rose lunged at her, tackling her back onto the bed, and she chuckled as she hugged her. “I’m still sorry. Even if you’re not mad at me.”

“You have no reason to be,” Juleka said. Rose sighed as she cuddled closer to her.

“Jules?” she asked, and Juleka hummed. “Can we…I know you want to be alone, but can we be alone? Together?”

Juleka smiled slightly and held her closer. She nodded and said, “…yeah. We can be alone together.”

As her eyes closed and she drifted off, she realized Luka had started playing again.

– V –

Later, after Rose had gone home, Luka rolled the partition back and stood behind her vanity, hands on his hips and watching her in the mirror expectantly. She looked down and let her bangs drop again.

“Didn’t you hear enough eavesdropping earlier?” she grumbled. He reached around her to grab her hairbrush from the tabletop, and she huffed out a sigh as he started brushing her hair.

“It’s not eavesdropping when you share a room. You’re bound to overhear stuff,” he said with a shrug.

“Stuff you don’t want to hear?” she asked quietly. He paused a moment, halfway through a stroke, and gave her a bittersweet smile.

“Stuff you already knew and have decided to live with,” he said, “but – as you so aptly put it earlier – this isn’t about my broken heart. It’s about yours.”

“It was stupid,” she said. She hesitated, and Luka laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Jules,” he said softly, “it’s ok. Really. I want you to talk about it instead of bottling it up. It’s not stupid if it made you vulnerable to Hawkmoth, and it’s fine that Adrien’s a part of the story.”

“But…” she started, and he shook his head.

“I like Marinette, and she likes Adrien. Hell, I like Adrien, too – he’s a cool guy,” Luka said with a helpless shrug. “I’ve known I was probably in a losing battle from the moment he showed up at the music festival.” He leaned down to her shoulder and winked at her, adding in a whisper, “Doesn’t mean I’m going to give up without a fight, though.”

“She likes you, too,” Juleka said after another moment. He glanced up from her hair, and she shrugged. “She does. She’s just…liked him longer. And he makes her short circuit, so I don’t know if she even realizes she likes you yet.”

“Which is why I’m fine waiting for her to choose,” he said. He smiled slightly, and she knew that, even though he was staring at her hair, he was seeing something else – some_one_ else. “I met her later. Adrien has the advantage. But Adrien’s also an idiot – I like the guy, but you know he is – so. But didn’t we say this isn’t about me? I’m supposed to be cheering _you_ up. So what happened today?”

She smiled and looked at her lap. She hoped, for Luka’s sake, he was right. For Marinette’s sake, too. She would never admit it to Alya, but she thought her brother and Marinette were much better suited for each other. Adrien was just…_Adrien_. He didn’t seem to be interested in Marinette beyond being her friend, and Marinette deserved someone who saw her for the amazing person she was. Luka cleared his throat, and she winced as she realized she’d gone quiet when he was still waiting for an explanation. She twisted her hands in her lap.

“I got nervous, and I started to freak out,” she said. “Marinette realized that, and…honestly, Luka, she was trying to give me an out. She said she could do the modelling herself – said that she should, since they were her designs – but that only made it worse. I kept thinking how pathetic I was because I couldn’t handle a stupid photoshoot, especially when I was the one insisting I wanted to try modeling. She didn’t mean to upset me – I know that.”

“And how does Adrien play into all this?” Luka asked. He pulled her hair back from her eyes and began separating it. She bit her lip as he started making small braids.

“We all had a free period because our science teacher wasn’t there. So…Alya convinced Marinette we needed a _professional’s_ input for the photos. Marinette didn’t want Adrien there, but Alya convinced him to come anyway,” Juleka said. “And when I started freaking out and Marinette offered to wear the designs instead, Alya saw it as an opportunity to do a _couples_ shoot. She said it was to show how the designs flattered anyone, but it’s Alya. She just wanted to get Marinette to ask Adrien out.”

“…you know, maybe I don’t know her that well, but she kind of sounds like a bully,” Luka hummed, and Juleka chuckled.

“She really is sometimes,” she sighed. “She means well, but she’s very assertive, especially if it’s something she’s passionate about, and that can make her seem like a bully. Everything kinda spiraled from there. So it’s like I told Rose: I don’t blame Marinette. I don’t even blame Adrien. Adrien was just trying to be nice and help out a friend, because Adrien’s _always_ nice. I’m mad at myself for not being brave enough to go for what I want, and I’m mad at Alya for turning the photoshoot into another _Operation Adrinette_ scheme.”

“I wish I had gotten out early, too,” he said. “I would have loved to be there. It sounds like someone needed to stand up to her.”

“Yeah, but like I said; Adrien wasn’t even supposed to be there. It was just supposed to be the girls,” she said, “so you weren’t supposed to be there, either.”

He grinned at her in the mirror before poking the back of her head. At her look, he said, “Adrien’s other advantage is Alya keeps making excuses for him and Marinette to spend time together. So you could always be my Alya. Someone in my corner trying to make things work for Operation…hmm…what do you think about _Lukanette?”_

“…I’m not playing matchmaker for you,” she huffed, blatantly ignoring his choice of a couple name. The corner of her mouth quirked up in a smirk, though, which made him smirk when he noticed. “Gross.”

He laughed and tugged lightly on her hair before weaving two of the braids together. After another moment, he asked, “But you guys worked it out, right? You seemed ok when you came back.”

“We did. Marinette apologized, even though she didn’t need to. And we tried again. I think being outside helped, too. Her room was kinda suffocating. It was better being in the open,” she said with a shrug. “I mean, Alya didn’t realize she’d done anything wrong, but I didn’t really expect her to. I’m cool with Marinette, though. You don’t have to start hating her on my account.”

“Good,” he quipped, tucking the last strand of hair in place. He laid his hands on her shoulders, and she rolled her eyes at the ridiculously complex series of braids he’d woven through her hair. It would take forever to undo it. “I’d hate to start hating you because you made me hate her.”

She rolled her eyes at the wink he sent her, but their ma called them for dinner before she could say anything else.

– V –

Juleka had a lot of visitors over the next couple of days.

Mylène had joined Ivan the next day at band practice, and Alix had come with her. Alix hadn’t stayed for the whole practice, but they both had made it obvious they were checking up on Juleka. Both were still worried, even after seeing her in school that day. Even after she had assured them all she wasn’t angry with any of them.

“I’m fine, guys,” Juleka had said before practice could start. “I promise.”

“For what it’s worth,” Alix said before leaving, “I think you’re gonna be a great model. Marinette would be crazy not to use you again.”

Juleka smiled in appreciation, her cheeks dusted a light pink. Alix waved before skating off, and the matter was dropped as Kitty Section spent the next few hours rocking out.

– V –

The next day, Luka looked up from his deck chair to find Adrien waving from the gangway. His driver was parked on the street behind him, the hulking man’s glare zeroed in on the Liberty.

“Hey, Luka! Is Juleka home?” Adrien called. Luka waved him aboard.

“Yeah,” he said as he stood. They clasped hands when Adrien came over, and Luka pulled him into a half-hug. “Your dad actually let you out today?”

“Oh, no way,” Adrien said with a laugh. “It’s just we were passing by on the way home from a shoot, and I wanted to talk to Juleka about…”

He trailed off, his eyes going wide as he realized what he was about to say. He stared at Luka, panic clear on his face, and Luka mentally sighed. He imagined Adrien was replaying every older, overprotective brother cliché he’d seen in every anime ever and was currently fearing for his life. (He almost longed for a ridiculously tall fence to vault for dramatic effect, just to really scare him. He wondered what Adrien would do if he called him a _brat_.) Luka laid a hand on his shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

“We’re cool,” he said instead. “Juleka already filled me in. Neither of us are mad at you.”

“Oh…” Adrien sighed. He still looked guilty. “You’re…you’re not mad at Marinette then, are you? I’d hate to think I caused trouble between you two…”

Well, _that_ was certainly surprising. Luka almost laughed at the irony of it all, but he knew Adrien was still blissfully unaware of Marinette’s feelings for him. That wasn’t his secret to share, anyway.

“I would never be mad at Marinette over something that wasn’t her fault,” he said firmly. He started moving towards the door that led below decks, waving Adrien along. “Come on. Last I saw her she was doing homework in our room.”

Juleka had been just as surprised to see Adrien as Luka had been, but all he could offer his sister was a shrug before he returned above decks to his guitar. When Adrien left a short while later, Juleka emerged from their cabin and collapsed on the chair beside him. At his look, she shook her head.

“He is _such_ an idiot,” she laughed. She looked at Luka with a grin. “If Marinette actually chooses him over you, she deserves a lifetime of putting up with _that_.”

Luka fell back against his chair, cackling, and Juleka grinned.

“He did have some good advice about modelling, though,” she said once he’d settled down, “so…maybe he’s not _all_ bad.”

– V –

The biggest surprise came the day after that when _Alya_ showed up at the boat.

Luka was just leaving, his motorcycle helmet in hand, when Alya stepped onto the gangway. They both froze, staring at each other in surprise, before Luka’s eyes narrowed. Alya looked at her feet, guilty.

“Is…is Juleka home?” she asked. Luka was surprised by how uncertain she sounded.

“I don’t know if she wants to talk to you,” he said, tucking his helmet under an arm. She winced at that, nodding.

“That’s fair,” she sighed. She pushed her hair behind her ear, still staring at her feet. “Look…I just came to apologize.”

She looked up to find he hadn’t moved. He still looked annoyed, and that seemed to spark some annoyance in her, too.

“Look, Couffaine, I don’t need the attitude from you, too,” she huffed. She folded her arms across her chest, and there was the Alya he knew. Stubborn and defiant to the end. “I messed up. Marinette, Rose, and Alix have already ripped me a new one over it. I’m trying to make it right, ok?”

“Ok,” he said, stepping aside. She blinked at him, surprised, and he rolled his eyes. “Juleka’s a big girl and can handle her own fights. If you piss her off enough, she’ll just toss you in the river. I’m cool with that.”

She gaped at him, and he shrugged before putting his helmet on and moving past her. She watched as he climbed on his bike – and when had he gotten a bike, anyway?! – and drove off. When she turned back to the boat, Juleka was standing on deck with her arms folded across her chest. She looked uncomfortable, but she was standing her ground. Alya deflated a little upon seeing her.

“…hey,” she called, waving slightly. Juleka jerked her head, signaling she should come aboard. Alya shuffled forward, rubbing her arms awkwardly. “Soooo…I didn’t realize Luka had his license. Or a bike. That’s kinda cool.”

“It’s Ma’s bike,” Juleka said, shrugging. “Luka got his license last year in case of emergencies.”

“Your brother’s kind of a badass,” Alya said with a smile. Juleka returned it with a smirk.

“He totally is,” she agreed, “but I can be, too. He’s right. Piss me off and you’re totally going into the river.”

Alya snorted at that, and in a moment they were both laughing. Alya wiped at the tears in her eyes and held her arms open.

“Girl, can I…?” she started to ask, and Juleka rolled her eyes before nodding. Alya crashed into her and squeezed her tight. “I am so, _so_ sorry. I wasn’t even thinking about what I was putting you through.”

“You get kind of single-minded when it comes to Adrien and Marinette,” Juleka mumbled with a shrug, but Alya shook her head.

“That doesn’t make it right, though,” she said, squeezing her again. She pulled back and frowned. “I left you vulnerable to Hawkmoth because I went ship crazy. Because I pressured Adrien into coming, then I pressured Marinette into going after him, and I didn’t even realize I was doing it. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I was as bad as Chloé.”

Juleka’s visible eyebrow soared, and Alya rolled her eyes.

“…that might’ve been Marinette talking,” she said. Juleka snorted. It really didn’t surprise her that Alya hadn’t come to that realization on her own. “She had a point, though. It was my fault, and you should’ve been mad at me, not Marinette.”

“I was,” Juleka said with a shrug. At Alya’s surprised expression, she rolled her eyes again. “But it’s just how you are, Alya. You want Marinette happy.”

“I really do,” Alya said with a sigh. Juleka pushed her hair back and glanced at the street, where Luka had driven off.

“I do, too,” she mumbled. Alya followed her gaze and smirked.

“…is that still a thing?” she asked. She looked entirely too excited for Juleka’s comfort. Juleka shrugged. She knew it was for Luka, but as for Marinette…well, it was as much a thing as it had ever been, which is to say not much of one, but there was always the _yet_. Alya looked like a lightbulb had gone off. “So _that’s_ why Mari didn’t want Adrien there…”

“…what? No,” Juleka said, shaking her head. She wished Alya would stop jumping to conclusions and just think. Listen. “Marinette didn’t want Adrien there because she can’t function around him and the website’s important to her.”

“But she was in her element – that should’ve overcome the awkwardness! She should have been fine!” Alya cried. Juleka groaned.

“You know it doesn’t work like that,” she mumbled. Alya sighed and looked away.

“I’ll just have to try harder next time,” she said. Juleka blinked at her, and in that moment she realized Alya might have been as much of an idiot as Adrien was. She really hadn’t learned anything, at least, and that made Juleka question the sincerity of her apology. Alya looked back at her and smiled. “…sorry. Guess I’m doing it again.”

“Yeah,” Juleka mumbled. Alya raised her fist for a bump.

“We cool, girl?” she asked. Juleka smiled slightly before pressing her fist against Alya’s.

“Yeah,” she said. “We’re cool.”

– V –

Luka was hanging upside-down in the rigging Saturday morning, replacing some ropes that needed fixing, when a shout from the street made him jump, nearly falling as he lost his grip.

“Ahoy!” Marinette called, waving to his ma. Anarka barked out a laugh, clearly delighted by Marinette picking up her lingo, and waved back. “Permission to come aboard, Captain?”

“Permission granted, lass!” Anarka called back. Marinette carefully crossed the gangway, balancing a bakery box in one hand and carrying a large, shiny purple gift bag in the other, before reaching his mother and handing over the box. “Oh? What’s this?”

“I came to see Juleka,” Marinette said. “They’re apology macarons, but I packed enough for everyone. It seemed rude to bring some for her and not you or Luka.”

“How thoughtful! Oi, Luka!” Anarka called, looking up at him. He jumped again as Marinette’s wide eyes turned up towards him, and he was embarrassed to admit he almost fell _again_ – which was ridiculous, as he’d been climbing those ropes since he was a kid. Her jaw dropped slightly at seeing him there, upside-down and shirtless, and he would have sworn her face turned pink. He waved, and her jaw snapped shut with a squeak. “Isn’t that sweet of her? You can finish that later – why don’t you take her to your sister?”

“O-oh, no, really, it’s ok! I know where Juluka’s room is – I mean Juleka’s room! He’s hot – I mean, he doesn’t have to stop what he was doing just to…I don’t want to be a bother!” she cried, and she squeaked as he landed behind her. Her face was _definitely_ red, and he tried not to let his smile turn into a full-blown grin. Had she just said he was hot?

“Are those for us?” he asked, gesturing to the box of macarons. She nodded mutely, biting her lip hard, and Anarka held the box out to him. He took a bite of a macaron and grinned at her. “They’re delicious – thank you!”

She opened her mouth to say something, but a snorting laugh came out instead. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she reached up to brush her thumb against the side of his mouth. He froze, eyes wide, but she was still smiling at him.

“You’ve got…here,” she snickered, and his smile returned as he felt her brush the jam filling away. “You really didn’t have to come all the way down here. I don’t want to be a bother, and I can find Juleka on my own.”

“You’re never a bother,” he said. He couldn’t help it: he let a small smirk through. “Besides, I’m _hot_. I need the break.”

“Oh my God I can’t believe I said that,” she groaned, burying her burning face in her hands. Anarka stifled her own laugh in her hand, and Luka smiled as he nudged Marinette forward.

“You’re a funny girl, Ma-Ma-Marinette,” he teased lightly, and she groaned again as she started walking towards the door.

“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” she asked, and he grinned as he finished off the macaron.

“Nope,” he said cheerfully. “Thanks for the snack. Jules is in our cabin.”

Marinette watched him veer off towards the kitchen, whistling cheerfully, and she lingered a moment at the door with a fond smile on her face. When he returned a moment later with a bottle of water and found her still standing there, smiling dopily at him, he grinned again and nodded towards the door. She squeaked, her face flaming at being caught, and quickly hurried inside. Juleka looked up in surprise as she crashed into her room, and upon seeing her panicked expression and red face rolled her eyes.

“What did my stupid brother do now?” she asked, and Marinette groaned as she collapsed on the floor.

“He’s hooooot,” she whined, and Juleka snorted before burying her face in her pillow, trying to stifle the cackles. When she looked back up and found Marinette sitting there on the floor, arms crossed over her chest and pouting, she started laughing all over again. Marinette’s pout flickered into a small smile, until they were both doubled over laughing. When they settled down, Marinette smiled and waved. “I hope you don’t mind me barging in like this. I tried texting, but there was no answer, so…”

“My phone died,” Juleka said with a shrug. She sat up and gestured to her nightstand. The phone was off, the battery symbol showing at about 32%. “It’s cool, though. What’s up, Marinette?”

Marinette hopped up and walked over, holding the bag up for her.

“I have a present,” she said, and while she was still smiling she looked nervous. Juleka blinked in surprise and took the shiny purple bag from her. Marinette jabbed her thumb towards the door. “I also brought apology macarons, but Luka took them to the kitchen. I brought extra for the Captain and him, too.”

“Apology macarons? But…” Juleka frowned as she looked at the gift. “Marinette, please don’t tell me you still feel guilty about the photoshoot.”

“Well…” Marinette looked down, wringing her hands, and Juleka sighed. Marinette held up her hand before Juleka could say anything else. “I know I already apologized, and I know you said we were ok, but…Juleka, it never should have happened. I should have listened to you. You needed time to collect yourself, but instead of giving you that time I let Alya rush things. That wasn’t fair to you, and I wasn’t a very good friend.”

“But you made it right in the end, and that’s what matters,” Juleka said. She put the gift aside and stood, hugging Marinette. Marinette tensed in surprise, but after a moment she relaxed and hugged her back. Juleka pulled back and smiled. “Thanks for the macarons anyway. Your family makes the best, so I won’t complain.”

Marinette giggled and held up her gift again. Juleka’s eyebrows rose as she took it. Marinette said, “This isn’t so much an apology gift as…I like to make things for my friends. And this one turned out really great.”

Juleka pulled a wrapped rectangle out of the bag. She peeled the tissue paper back, and she almost dropped the gift in shock when she saw it. Marinette had taken one of the photos from the shoot, the one where she was resting with her chin in her hand before the Eiffel Tower, and blown it up to fit a large frame. Adrien had been cropped out, so Juleka was the sole focus of the photo. Around the black frame Marinette had painstakingly glued purple and black gems in a swirling, flowery pattern, making the frame glimmer in the light. It was beautiful, and something she knew her mother would love and probably display proudly on the wall. She looked up at Marinette, her eyes stinging.

“Marinette…” she choked out, and Marinette smiled softly at her.

“You’re beautiful, Juleka,” she said. “I just wanted you to remember that. If you honestly want to pursue a career in modeling, you’ll be amazing at it. Please don’t quit on your dream. And I hope, next time I need someone to make my designs really pop, you’ll remember me.”

Juleka put the frame down and hugged her again, and Marinette smiled as she held her tight. Juleka choked out a thank you, and Marinette rubbed her back.

“Thank you,” she said instead. “My website’s going to have the best photos now, and it’s all thanks to you. Also…”

She stepped back from Juleka to lift up the bag again. She winked at her and added, “I also threw in the outfit from the shoot, if you wanted it. Accessories and all. You looked really good in it. There’s something else, too.”

She reached in and pulled out a small white box. Juleka opened it to find some new barrettes, and she gave Marinette an amused look.

“In case you wanted to play with your hair again,” she said with a shrug. “I know your bangs are kind of like a shield sometimes, but…you looked great with them pinned back, too. So. I’m not saying you _have_ to use them, but…if you ever wanted to. Just to mix things up.”

Juleka smiled as she looked at the barrettes. She hadn’t been able to find the barrette she’d been wearing when she had been akumatized, but if she was honest she had thrown its match out when she had gotten home, anyway. Seeing the hairpiece just reminded her of Reflekta, and those were memories she was happier without. The barrettes Marinette had made were beautiful, though. There was a green one to match the earrings and pendant from the photoshoot, along with a hair comb decorated with the same black and purple pattern from the photo frame. There was also a clip with a small, pink rose on the end that made her smile. She put the lid back on the box and smiled at Marinette. She would look through it better later.

“Thank you, Marinette,” she said. Marinette smiled and hugged her again.

“You’re amazing, Juleka,” she said. “Please don’t ever forget that.”

– V –

Marinette ended up hanging out at the Liberty for most of the day, and Juleka was grateful for the opportunity to spend time with her friend one-on-one. It was a nice change of pace, without Alya around to direct their group. They were able to just talk and relax. At one point they found themselves in front of Juleka’s vanity, Marinette experimenting with different hairstyles for Juleka while Juleka did her nails. Juleka looked up to find Marinette tapping her chin and staring at her hair with a look of serious concentration on her face. It was so absurd that Juleka found herself stifling a laugh.

“What’s with the face?” she asked, and Marinette grinned at her.

“How different would you be willing to go?” she asked. Juleka shrugged as she considered her hair.

“I dunno…” she said. “Luka went crazy with braids the other night. I think he was just trying to get me to talk, though, so he went with something that would take more time. It took forever to get them all out, though.”

Marinette giggled, nodded, and said, “Right, so no braids.”

“Maybe _a_ braid,” Juleka conceded, thinking of her ma, “but not…y’know. A million.”

Luka came in to find Marinette collapsed over Juleka, holding her shoulders as they both laughed. They stopped long enough to look up at him, only to start laughing again when he crossed to his dresser. He raised an eyebrow at them and shrugged before grabbing a change of clothes.

“Shower,” he said before heading back out, and Juleka snorted.

“Good – you stink!” she called before he could close the door.

“I was working!” he called back, the door closing on more laughter. He smiled as he walked to the bathroom, glad that his sister was happy again. When he came back into the room a short while later, they were still at the vanity, but this time Juleka – whose bangs were braided back and tucked into a ponytail, a pretty comb decorated with purple flowers tucked into the base of the tail – was standing behind Marinette, who was sitting in the chair with her eyes closed. Neither heard him come in.

“…be there,” Juleka was saying. Marinette bit her lip, her face scrunching.

“I tried to tell her no,” she finally said. “You know how I am around him. I couldn’t even imagine him being in my room, and trying to work around him? But she didn’t even care. She was _so certain_ that it would all be fine.”

“At least you took the pictures down,” Juleka mumbled, and Marinette groaned.

“Don’t even remind me,” she sighed. “I still have a few up, but…after Jagged blabbed about my crush to the world on live TV, I _had_ to take them down.”

Luka flopped on his bed, making both girls jump. Juleka glared at him while Marinette stared in horror, but Juleka quickly clapped a hand over her eyes.

“No peeking!” she said. She glanced at Luka again. “And rude. Knock next time.”

“It’s my room, too,” he said, resting his arms behind his head, and Juleka rolled her eyes. Luka sat up in surprise when he looked back at them, finally registering what Juleka was doing to Marinette’s hair. His jaw dropped as he took in the pink bangs, the streaks along the tips of her hair. “…whoa.”

“…oh no. Is it that bad? Juleka, what did you do?” Marinette panicked. Juleka chucked her hairbrush at her brother before laying a comforting hand on Marinette’s shoulder.

“Relax,” she said. “It’ll wash out tonight. It’s just chalk. I wouldn’t do anything permanent without your permission.”

“Can I…?” she asked, gesturing to her eyes, and when Juleka gave her approval Marinette nervously peeked open an eye. Both eyes shot open as she registered the pink, a brilliant smile filling her face. “Juleka! I love it!”

“Really?” Juleka asked nervously, and Marinette giggled as she turned her head to admire the back.

“I’m one of you now!” she said, grinning up at her. Juleka glanced at her brother to find him smiling. He had scooted back against the wall, his guitar in his lap. He started plucking out a simple melody, making Marinette turn towards him.

“Weren’t you already, though?” he asked innocently. The smile quickly vanished as red flooded her face, and he found himself chuckling. “I like it, Marinette. You look…_hot_.”

“Oh my God, I hate you!” she wailed, burying her burning face in her hands as he laughed. Juleka raised both eyebrows at her brother, but Luka just smiled. Marinette peeked out from between her fingers, and he could see the shy smile curling her lips. “You…you really like it?”

“What matters is that _you_ like it,” he said, putting his guitar down again. He leaned forward and let his eyes lazily trace over the streaks in her hair, using the opportunity to just take her in. “But…yeah. I really do.”

– V –

It was almost time for dinner before Marinette actually left, and that was only after she assured Anarka she was only leaving because her grandmother had surprised her parents and she was expected home for dinner. (Anarka had been more than willing to _lock her in the brig_, if she did want to stay longer, and it took all three Couffaines to convince her she hadn’t been an imposition all day. Luka had even offered to walk her home, but she had kindly refused. “I’d just feel like I needed to walk you back home again, and then we’d be in a home-walking loop through the city!” she’d said. He’d told her he could think of worse loops to be in, making her blush. The blush only darkened when he said he could drive her instead, but she still declined.)

She lingered on the gangway with Juleka, halfway between the boat and the city.

“I know you’re going to get sick of me saying this –” she started, but Juleka rolled her eyes and punched a joking fist against her shoulder.

“Then stop saying it,” she mumbled. She pulled her into a quick hug. “We’re cool, Marinette. More than cool. Stop beating yourself up over it.”

“I’ll see you at school Monday,” Marinette said instead, giving her a quick squeeze before crossing to the city. She waved before dashing off into the night, and Juleka smiled as she watched her friend leave.

“I like Marinette hanging out here,” Luka commented as she hopped back onto the ship. He was leaning on the railing, watching Marinette as she disappeared. Juleka rolled her eyes.

“You like Marinette,” she snorted, and his smile grew.

“I like Marinette,” he agreed with a nod. There was a twinkle in his eye as he looked at her. “But you’re not gonna like me, I’m afraid.”

She paused, eyes narrowing suspiciously at him.

“…what did you do?” she asked, and he chuckled as an excited shout came from below deck.

“I might have hung that picture up in the living room when you weren’t looking,” he said with a shrug. At her look, he grinned. “What? It’s a great picture of you. Ma was bound to do it anyway, so I beat her to the punch. I think she likes it.”

“I’m going to kill you…” Juleka groaned, rubbing at her face. He laughed as she took a breath and made her way to the door, preparing herself to face her mother’s excitement.

“Hey, Jules!” he called, his eyes still trained on the city.

“Yeah?” she asked, pausing at the door.

“We cool?”

She smiled at him when he looked back at her. She shook her head and huffed out a laugh.

“Yeah,” she said. “We’re cool.”


End file.
